I am certainly game for a Winter Assault scale epic at some point in my writing carrier… Maybe in a few years, though. :)

That said, a short story sounds like a fun idea to me. Everyone wants to write in the spring, though. My guy doesn't arrive until September, blast it!

What is the name of that one Daedra holiday? You know, the one night a year where the Daedra run amok in the streets and vandalize things? I'm looking for it in the wiki, but that's a little difficult without knowing the name. :) That happens on October 31st, doesn't it? That sounds like a cool event we could all collaborate on. Maybe all the newbie characters by some chance get grouped together and into trouble and the vets have to save them, or something. :)

It is called Daedra'kema, it is mentioned on several pages here but I don't think it has its own page yet. See Raven's story 'Rights of Ascendency'. About 3/4 of the way through the story is an example of a Daedra'kema, I'm not sure if it is a typical Daedra'kema as Merai is a rather special case, but it is the only example I know of.

Maybe all the newbie characters by some chance get grouped together and into trouble and the vets have to save them, or something.

Actually, it's on October 30th. In the Suielman calendar, odd-numbered months have 31 days and even-numbered months have 30 days — except January, which only has 31 days on leap years. So, yes, that means that there is a February 30th and September 31st, while the last day in October is the 30th.1

In pre-Suielman days the Midlanders actually used a lunar calendar, which I invented for my d20 Lothanasi campaign. This was the religious calendar that was originally used to mark the holy days of the aedra and daedra, back when both sides of the Pantheon were worshipped openly. Every month consisted of three nine-day "weeks" that corresponded to the waxing, fullness, and waning of the moon. These 27 days were followed by a day called the Silence, which always fell on the New Moon and had no number associated with it. Originally, Daedra'kema always fell on the Silence of the Tenth Moon; when the Suielmans took over they replaced the old lunar calendar with their solar one, and Daedra'kema was shifted to the last day of the tenth month. Since Suielman months are each at least two days longer than the old lunar months, this means that Daedra'kema got shifted several weeks later in the year, and it is no longer tied to a specific point in the lunar cycle.

Footnotes

1. Also — and I don't know how common this is elsewhere — but in Detroit where I grew up, October 30th is called "Devils' Night", which was the inspiration for Daedra'kema. :)

Well if you set it in Fall of CR 707, then my main characters would be far away, so I'd have to use some of my other characters (Garigan would be the most natural, then Father Hough). He'll be rather haunted at that point given what I just did to him in LTOY.

But like I said, if we want to do this, we have to organize from the get go, otherwise the story will get blown out of proportion.

I also was thinking in the fall. Something fun and lighthearted, like a team game or something. The idea was inspired by the song "Playing With the Boys", from Top Gun, where the game is volleyball.

This doesn't need to be anything grand and epic, but I'd enjoy something purely fun before the year turns in MK. Maybe a fall carnival or competition, or just a shirts vs skins game, or something on that level.

Why not have the event be the anniversary of the Battle of the Three Gates? It would be good to pin that particular date down closer than just the year 699.

Actually, it's explicitly stated in the MK FAQ that the battle is not commemmorated on the anniversary of the day it happened. This is because the loss of life on that day was so horrific that holding a celebration would be considered disrespectful to the dead and their families, who need that day to deal with their own private grief. I believe it is generally accepted that the battle took place sometime in the fall, but the exact date has never been established because of the taboo on celebrating the anniversary.

The big wild party sounds ok. If it is to be a sports match I would think that we would want to balance the teams, so that it wouldn't be a complete blowout, for instance Fur vs Tunics wouldn't be all that fair, people like Oberon, Drift and a few other new characters against normal people wouldn't be all that fair for the normal, or at least as normal as the keep gets, people would end up with the heavy weights having all of the advantages.

For the story, I propose this restriction: No fighting scenes. Not even sparring matches. We've all seen that the Keepers know how to fight. Now, let's show that they know how to play, too. Races, pie-eating contests, dances, games, etc. Let there be peace and laughter.

Let's just start listing ideas of events. We can always winnow down the list later. I'll get it started. Feel free to add on, both within the categories, and by adding new categories! But -no- weapons!

-tomato fight! Or just throwing them at a specified person. (for a few coins you can have someone put in the stocks for a few minutes :P )
-Mud wrestling
-seven legged race (two taurs, one leg tied together, or two for a six legged)
-strength contests
-rock lifting
-rock throwing
-taurs dragging rocks
I'm trying to go off track and field events here as most originated from farm tasks, ex. pole vaulting was a way to cross irrigation ditches, and shot putting was used to clear rocks from the field, same with highland games like throwing the hammer.

A wonderful idea just occured to me! Padriac was recently made a Long Scout but was never given his final initiation :D I was wondering what to do but the image of the proud rabbit warrior dyed bright pink and wearing nothing but pink bows comes to mind!

I have a suggestion for how things can be tied together in this story. Drift is planning to propose to Alexis at the dance that night, and his plans are overheard. They are then passed along through the rumor mill, getting more and more garbled with every translation. I think it could be fun to see how crazy the rumors get.